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Topic: How to you stay motivated (Read 4371 times)

Just thought I'd start a discussion on how everyone keeps doing what you're doing!

Some amazing stories on this website and forum and this community is definitely one of those motivational tools that I have found incredibly useful.

But what do you do on an everyday basis? One of the things I do is I have a poster on the inside of my wardrobe. It's a kind of mash up of all the things I want to achieve before I'm 30. It contains pictures of the places I want to go, the kind of lifestyle I want to lead and lists of financially goals among other things.

My girlfriend and I also discuss our goals and strategies while walking to work to motivate us through the day ahead.

I've read that some on this forum have a countdown "clock" or stick pennies to the work computer screen!

Anyone else have some awesome techniques or quirks that whenever they feel like throwing in the towel, they turn to for that reminder of why we are all doing this?

I like to read people's blogs about investing, personal finance, and dividend investing/passive income in particular. There are so many excellent blogs out there, and most of them are in different "stages" of their journey to FI. It helps motivate me to achieve what they are either on track for, or have already done.

A lot of us obviously follow blogs and other people's stories; hearing about someone else's success can really illustrate why it matters in the first place.

I look at my own data all the time - probably daily - on a spending level and scrutinize my monthly summaries in Learnvest's mobile app whenever I'm out shopping or debating an upcoming purchase decision. I track my net worth and huge gigantic slices of student debt hacked down every month. I try to set new records for coming in underbudget.

Since all my financial pressures are due to student loans, until recently I got to gleefully watch separately balances track down to zero. I'm down to one loan, but I'm sure there are ways to divvy any debt figures up into manageable chunks and zero them out one by one.

I like to set mini-challenges - I had a frozen whole turkey from 2012 to get rid of, so I decided not to buy groceries this month (average $97/mo) - I just flat-out needed to use what I had before buying any more. I cheated a teeny bit: $3 went to buying fresh carrots and celery for the roasting pan. I've been eating turkey-fat buttermilk sage biscuits, turkey soup with tortellini, turkey & bacon homemade pizza, etc ever since and I FINALLY have space in my freezer for all the homemade stuff I like to cook and portion out for lazy microwave meals. Plus - there's another $90 I get to throw at the aforementioned savings goal for the month.

Biggest tip from where I stand: Pictures help for most of us. Getting a service like Mint or Learnvest that tracks you automatically and can show graphs lets you immediately see your progress.

This question seems to imply that you won't succeed unless you stay motivated. I think a big part of Mustaschianism is just... not wanting all the crap. So even when you're not motivated, it doesn't make a difference in your behavior. It's just like losing weight... you don't keep it off long term by sheer willpower... you do it by a change of lifestyle.. by not wanting to eat crap anymore, and wanting to be active instead.

For me happiness is living a good life. Living a good life is following a simple zen/buddhist life. Following that simple life I try to justify everything I buy the account that if it will bring me happiness or not.

Everything else is diverted to savings and school loans.

Financial independence me for isn't the ultimate victory it is a little rose that will bloom when the time is right.

I guess for me, there's no issue in needing to remain motivated, as I don't feel deprived of anything. Sure, it took some effort at first to change my habits and to condition myself to question whether all the indulgences that are thrown at us on an everyday basis will make me any happier in the long run, but now everything just feels like it's on autopilot. I still feel like I do lots of indulgent stuff-- go out to the movies, to dinner, travel, entry fees for races, etc., but I have cut out all the spending which was really wasteful. I *love* my monthly investment day, and get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing my investments grow over time.

I had Memorial Day off from work and I spent the day in my garden. It's hard work, but so satisfying when you see the plants grow and when you can eat the fruits and vegetables you produce. I even found a large patch of strawberries growing naturally next to my garden gate. That's when I realized that when I am FI, I will be able to do this any day I want. That is very motivating to me.

My main trick is to just keep doing what I'm doing whether I am motivated or not. We set aside a certain amount for savings every single month, and that's it. If we just live on the rest, we'll get to where we're trying to go.

I might not track spending one month if I get sick of that, but the setting aside the savings never varies.

I had Memorial Day off from work and I spent the day in my garden. It's hard work, but so satisfying when you see the plants grow and when you can eat the fruits and vegetables you produce. I even found a large patch of strawberries growing naturally next to my garden gate. That's when I realized that when I am FI, I will be able to do this any day I want. That is very motivating to me.

The rain held off until very late in the day, and gardening then was a lot of fun. I have down and up days, but my main motivation is to live simply, as little waste as possible, and educate my kids to live the same way.

From the money side, writing monthly report cards and net worth updates on my blog helps. Reading other blogs is inspiring as well, and some items I get some great ideas for how to speed things up or enjoy life more while on the journey.

In general, when you step outside of the insanity of consumerism and get the proper head space, it's easy to stay motivated because you realize how crazy all this shit is.

Just thought I'd start a discussion on how everyone keeps doing what you're doing!

Some amazing stories on this website and forum and this community is definitely one of those motivational tools that I have found incredibly useful.

But what do you do on an everyday basis? One of the things I do is I have a poster on the inside of my wardrobe. It's a kind of mash up of all the things I want to achieve before I'm 30. It contains pictures of the places I want to go, the kind of lifestyle I want to lead and lists of financially goals among other things.

My girlfriend and I also discuss our goals and strategies while walking to work to motivate us through the day ahead.

I've read that some on this forum have a countdown "clock" or stick pennies to the work computer screen!

Anyone else have some awesome techniques or quirks that whenever they feel like throwing in the towel, they turn to for that reminder of why we are all doing this?

Cheers

Take that poster out of your closet and hang it on your wall where you can see it constantly. I turned my life around at 38 by posting my desired income/position on the top of my computer monitor. Within 18 months I had achieved it because every time I saw that I asked myself.... what next will move me closer to that goal? I'm a big spreadsheet person too. I need to track it in order to manage it.... that includes personal finances, professional goals, and diet/exercise too.